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Sarah Booth Delaney #3
Splintered Bones
She may be a Mississippi belle, but Sarah Booth Delaney is no pampered daddy's girl. Unwed and over thirty, Sarah has her own set of problems--like coping with regular hauntings by her great-great-grandmother's nanny, a busybody of a ghost who's set on marrying her off to the first suitor who comes calling. But when an old friend is in trouble, Sarah Booth doesn't hesitate to get involved.
Splintered Bones
Eulalee McBride has confessed to murdering her husband...and she wants Sarah to dig up the dirt on the violent scalawag to prove he got what he deserved. Sarah Booth suspects that her friend is lying through her pearly whites...but why? There ' s certainly no lack of suspects in Zinnia, Mississippi, including Bud Lynch, a horse trainer who arouses killer lust in the town's women. As Sarah Booth begins to put together the pieces of the case, a killer is preparing to strike again. And this time it could send one late-blooming southern sleuth into an early grave.
Splintered Bones
Eulalee McBride has confessed to murdering her husband...and she wants Sarah to dig up the dirt on the violent scalawag to prove he got what he deserved. Sarah Booth suspects that her friend is lying through her pearly whites...but why? There ' s certainly no lack of suspects in Zinnia, Mississippi, including Bud Lynch, a horse trainer who arouses killer lust in the town's women. As Sarah Booth begins to put together the pieces of the case, a killer is preparing to strike again. And this time it could send one late-blooming southern sleuth into an early grave.
355 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
201 people are currently reading
1026 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Haines
115 books1,573 followersCarolyn Haines is the USA Today bestselling author of over 70 books. In 2020, she was inducted into the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. She was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alabama Library Association, the Harper Lee Award for Distinguished Writing, the Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence, as well as the "Best Amateur Sleuth" award by Romantic Times. Born and raised in Mississippi, she now lives in Alabama on a farm with more dogs, cats, and horses than she can possibly keep track of.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
August 10, 2019
I bought the fourth and fifth paperbacks by Carolyn Haines years ago. I eventually obtained the first two, discovering recently that I like them a great deal. If Carolyn would remove a useless ghost, who solely harasses protagonist, Sarah Delaney, to produce heirs; we would delve into the paranormal seriously. There is no awe about interacting with her house’s ghost daily. Characterization and plot are excellent. Mysteries are well-layered and a loyal cast of friends grows on us. The premise is strong: determinedly keeping-up family land and self-respect, despite not being rich like southern belle peers.
When she makes sleuthing her business and hires the loveable Tinky, who equally prefers moral character to snobbery: it establishes permanent plausibility for all the mysteries. The town accepting their investigation business and police working with them, is refreshing. Carolyn is also hilarious. It is titillating every time Sarah demonstrates backbone to bitchy peers. Her language is blunt, with creative swears. I gave four stars for a mystery that is more interesting to me than most. However, ironically, this volume that took longest to buy, felt like filler. Aside from getting a horse, who will surely be a prominent character; “Splintered Bones” felt disconnected from this series. I believe you could skip it, because the romantic interest to Sarah and readers, Hamilton, is absent. Volume two ended with a spark that we expected to follow-up here.
Silly humour abounded but contrasted nicely, with the ugly theme of sociopaths twisting dependence upon wives, even though they produce the talent for their incomes. One is a country music songstress, the other a horse-training Mother & Daughter. This teenager capitalized on the internet of 2002, with a dating profile for Sarah causing colourful suitors to turn-up. I enjoyed it but think subsequent volumes will restore the pizzazz.
When she makes sleuthing her business and hires the loveable Tinky, who equally prefers moral character to snobbery: it establishes permanent plausibility for all the mysteries. The town accepting their investigation business and police working with them, is refreshing. Carolyn is also hilarious. It is titillating every time Sarah demonstrates backbone to bitchy peers. Her language is blunt, with creative swears. I gave four stars for a mystery that is more interesting to me than most. However, ironically, this volume that took longest to buy, felt like filler. Aside from getting a horse, who will surely be a prominent character; “Splintered Bones” felt disconnected from this series. I believe you could skip it, because the romantic interest to Sarah and readers, Hamilton, is absent. Volume two ended with a spark that we expected to follow-up here.
Silly humour abounded but contrasted nicely, with the ugly theme of sociopaths twisting dependence upon wives, even though they produce the talent for their incomes. One is a country music songstress, the other a horse-training Mother & Daughter. This teenager capitalized on the internet of 2002, with a dating profile for Sarah causing colourful suitors to turn-up. I enjoyed it but think subsequent volumes will restore the pizzazz.
March 31, 2011
I'm a big fan of Janet Evanovich, and when Carolyn Haines was recommended for those who like Janet, I was excited to give her a try. And I've not been disappointed at all. I love the humor and the ghost and the proposed boyfriends and all her "helpful" friends. This is my 3rd one to read. Can't wait to get on to the next one!
February 22, 2012
Very entertaining!
A crime I couldn't figure out, a 14 year old playing cupid/matchmaker via the internet - one-by-one men are showing up at Sarah's door assuming she invited them and one of them is an Elvis impersonator...lol
Of course, I never tire of her resident ghost who has a keen sense of fashion, an attitude and always with an opinion on how Sarah can improve her looks, life and entice a man because she is getting older don't you know...lol
It was so good I am going on to the next one in the series.
A crime I couldn't figure out, a 14 year old playing cupid/matchmaker via the internet - one-by-one men are showing up at Sarah's door assuming she invited them and one of them is an Elvis impersonator...lol
Of course, I never tire of her resident ghost who has a keen sense of fashion, an attitude and always with an opinion on how Sarah can improve her looks, life and entice a man because she is getting older don't you know...lol
It was so good I am going on to the next one in the series.
April 19, 2012
Southern women who know what they want, a ghost with an attitude, a murder that has been confessed to, and a mystery that needs solving. Throw in a little spice and sugar and you have a really good recipe for a great mystery story. This book was light reading, although I hated to put it down as I couldn't wait to see what truly was going on. Boy, was I surprised!
May 13, 2011
I am so loving this series. I have been reading so much paranormal lately that I decided to start back on my cozy mysteries. This series is just great. I love books that are set in the south. These have just the right amount of mystery plus comedy. I do wonder when Hamilton will appear again though.
October 28, 2019
I love this series. Smart, sassy and southern.
September 19, 2013
Not as excited about book 3 in the series. It made me take a break from Sarah Booth Delaney. I enjoyed the characters and the mystery was solid. In fact, the book was pretty good until the end. All of a sudden there were more crimes and criminals than you could count. I felt like the whodunnit became very muddled and confusing. And then the resolution to the main crime was kind of a let down. So, not a great read.
May 3, 2019
Much better than Book 1.
SLC
SLC
October 1, 2020
This is a good installment in the Sarah Booth Delaney series. Sarah Booth's friend confesses to a murder that Sarah Booth knows she did not commit. I always enjoy the Sarah Booth books. The characters are great and the mystery is always good.
August 26, 2018
Liked it
Carolyn Haine’s third offering in the Sarah Booth Delaney series is an entertaining read. For me, it fell short of the first two...but is still a good mystery that will leave you guessing.
Carolyn Haine’s third offering in the Sarah Booth Delaney series is an entertaining read. For me, it fell short of the first two...but is still a good mystery that will leave you guessing.
January 9, 2024
Sarah Booth Delaney is single, in her thirties, the last of her line, living in her family's plantation and recently became a private detective. Lee, a childhood friend, was recently arrested for murdering her abusive husband and has confessed. She asks Sarah to find information about him to justify her killing him. As Sarah investigates, she starts to think that perhaps Lee is covering for someone and advises her to come clean. In the meantime, Sarah has taken in Lee's wild teenage daughter, Kip. Plus there's a ball coming up and she has to find a date.
It is written in first person perspective in Sarah's voice. This is the third in the Sarah Booth Delaney series (there are currently 26 books in the series) ... it works as a stand alone as there is enough background provided. I read the first two in the last month or so and liked them enough to keep going with the series. I thought this one was okay. I liked it better than the first two ... I found the story more interesting and there weren't as many characters (I found the first two had too many characters to keep track of).
Sarah's mother's last name was Booth and her father's last name was Delaney and I thought it was weird that everyone calls her "Sarah Booth" rather than just "Sarah". It was odd that Jitty, the ghost of her great-great-grandmother's nanny, "lives" with her. Jitty is really annoying ... she's very negative and always putting Sarah down and nagging her about being single and childless. I could do without Sarah's dreams and her obsession with author Kinky Friedman.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2024/01...
It is written in first person perspective in Sarah's voice. This is the third in the Sarah Booth Delaney series (there are currently 26 books in the series) ... it works as a stand alone as there is enough background provided. I read the first two in the last month or so and liked them enough to keep going with the series. I thought this one was okay. I liked it better than the first two ... I found the story more interesting and there weren't as many characters (I found the first two had too many characters to keep track of).
Sarah's mother's last name was Booth and her father's last name was Delaney and I thought it was weird that everyone calls her "Sarah Booth" rather than just "Sarah". It was odd that Jitty, the ghost of her great-great-grandmother's nanny, "lives" with her. Jitty is really annoying ... she's very negative and always putting Sarah down and nagging her about being single and childless. I could do without Sarah's dreams and her obsession with author Kinky Friedman.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2024/01...
March 17, 2020
I started this series long ago, read #1 and 2, continued to collect them, but never read any further. Why not? They are quite entertaining!
I think that the ghost of her great great grandmother's nanny, Jitty, is supposed to be an integral part of the series but this is the only thing part of the books that I don't like. All she does is show up in various outfits, some quite sexy and odd for a ghost from her time period to like let alone wear, and harangue Sarah Booth Delaney about her lack of male boyfriends that could lead to marriage. Sarah Booth is quite able to solve the mysteries on her own and the ghost is superfluous. Other than that, the murder of a man everyone thought deserved to die, the confession of his wife, Lee, Sarah Booth's good friend, the teenager who is a big problem with her attitude, all make for a great mystery that I did not solve. Different men showing up at Sarah Booth's door, summoned by someone through the internet to be her date for the Hunt Ball, was amusing. She is fickle, though, and should not settle down yet.
I think that the ghost of her great great grandmother's nanny, Jitty, is supposed to be an integral part of the series but this is the only thing part of the books that I don't like. All she does is show up in various outfits, some quite sexy and odd for a ghost from her time period to like let alone wear, and harangue Sarah Booth Delaney about her lack of male boyfriends that could lead to marriage. Sarah Booth is quite able to solve the mysteries on her own and the ghost is superfluous. Other than that, the murder of a man everyone thought deserved to die, the confession of his wife, Lee, Sarah Booth's good friend, the teenager who is a big problem with her attitude, all make for a great mystery that I did not solve. Different men showing up at Sarah Booth's door, summoned by someone through the internet to be her date for the Hunt Ball, was amusing. She is fickle, though, and should not settle down yet.
May 14, 2021
Friends raved about this series but I just don't get it. The ghost is worthless and mean. Sarah Booth is absurd as a PI - she doesn't carry a weapon of any type, not even a cell phone (which even in 2002 when this book was written was pretty common), and she falls into the answers/doesn't seem to come up with anything on her own. Also the majority of the time she's talking to herself about how different she is from her friends & worrying about not having a man or kids.
As for this story in particular, Sarah Booth stumbled around, made stupid decisions, then poof at the end 2 villains just magically confessed all to her, and she did nothing to secure the confessions & with her stupid decisions would have died without Tinky. Then the dumb wrap up that the mob just left town without the debt settled and wouldn't be an issue any longer.....seriously? I don't understand the appeal of this series but have the audiobooks for the next few books so may try one more......
As for this story in particular, Sarah Booth stumbled around, made stupid decisions, then poof at the end 2 villains just magically confessed all to her, and she did nothing to secure the confessions & with her stupid decisions would have died without Tinky. Then the dumb wrap up that the mob just left town without the debt settled and wouldn't be an issue any longer.....seriously? I don't understand the appeal of this series but have the audiobooks for the next few books so may try one more......
April 14, 2018
Around the Year in 52 Books 2018 Reading Challenge. A book whose title includes a body part.
Kemper Fuquar is dead and his wife Eulalee McBride has confessed. But who is she protecting, her daughter Kip or her prize stallion Avenger who would be worthless if it is known he is a killer. She asks Sarah Booth to dig up evidence that like Earl (from the song) he deserved to die. She also asks Sarah Booth to take Kip into her home until Lee can again be there for Kip. In fact, lots of evidence shows that Kemper was a horrible person who had repeatedly abused Lee. However, Lee had never filed a report of his abuse and there was no evidence that he had abused her the night he died.
Kemper Fuquar is dead and his wife Eulalee McBride has confessed. But who is she protecting, her daughter Kip or her prize stallion Avenger who would be worthless if it is known he is a killer. She asks Sarah Booth to dig up evidence that like Earl (from the song) he deserved to die. She also asks Sarah Booth to take Kip into her home until Lee can again be there for Kip. In fact, lots of evidence shows that Kemper was a horrible person who had repeatedly abused Lee. However, Lee had never filed a report of his abuse and there was no evidence that he had abused her the night he died.
June 27, 2020
I've been reading this series but this one was a little more difficult because the story centers on a young teenager whose parents don't seem to have her best interests at heart and she is struggling for that. Sarah Booth Delaney and her in-house ghost, Jitty, once again have to figure out what's going on in their little southern town. Being from the northern U.S., I find it interesting when they talk about the roll of women in the south over the ages. But apparently some of that has carried over into the end of the last century. Still a good read and have the next in the series queued up and ready to read :D
October 10, 2019
Splintered Bones by Carolyn Haines (Rb Digital library audiobook) Another Sara Booth Delaney misadventure. This time she is asked to help a school friend by taking care of her daughter ...and helping to prove that her friends husband was worth killing.. since she admitted to killing him. But everything isn’t as it seems and this assignment leads Sara on another interesting adventure full of horses.. questionable characters and finding a date for the latest social function. I loved this book! Really recommend this series! I’m on to the next book.
August 28, 2020
I read one earlier book in this series and it was so different from my usual fair that I gave it only two stars.
This year is part of my determination to read more books by female authors not called Agatha Christie and not looking like they came from the House of Mills & Boon. Given that and given how popular Carolyn Haines is in her fandom, I picked up this book against my better angels and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I will likely read more of the Sarah Booth Delaney books. They have a charm and use of language that makes for great reading.
This year is part of my determination to read more books by female authors not called Agatha Christie and not looking like they came from the House of Mills & Boon. Given that and given how popular Carolyn Haines is in her fandom, I picked up this book against my better angels and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I will likely read more of the Sarah Booth Delaney books. They have a charm and use of language that makes for great reading.
July 16, 2019
I just finished Wishbones by Carolyn Haines. The 8th book in the Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery series. I have read them all in order. I don’t read books in the paranormal category, but I am so glad I read these, and grateful my library has the series. The characters are fun and believable, the story flows very well, and the plot had me guessing right to the end. I also loved the “character” interviews at the end of some of the books. I would recommend these to anyone who loves cozies.
May 23, 2017
In this book, Sarah Booth Delaney is hired by Eulalee McBride to prove her husband deserved to be killed. Eulalee has confessed to the murder but no one believes her including Sarah. Everyone agrees that the victim deserved to die but who did it is up in the air. Lots of suspects, lots of lies and lots of threats. The book was a fast easy read.
December 5, 2017
I love this series but this was my favorite one so far! I mean, take a little Southern humor and mystery and stir it up while adding a little horse breeding, love triangles, blues musicians, and Elvis impersonators and you have the recipe for the perfect entertainment while sitting on the porch sipping some ________________ (insert the beverage of your choice)!
June 3, 2020
Hahah YALL!!! I mean they had two parties that just completely changed everything in the most delta way possible 😂 I’m also still very tickled over the aspiring country star and then the horse people. Lawd have mercy. Although I will say, ms Haines can write an interesting story but she seems to conclude them similarly so far. We shall see what book 4 entails 🧐
November 8, 2020
Rounded up because the mystery, characters, setting, dialog, etc., rates the four. However. I nearly have it a two for the annoying, repetitive, interaction and conversations with the "ghost" character. Put it in it's grave or have it talk about something other than reproduction. I've begun just skipping those parts.
June 6, 2023
Very frustrating. The MC goes from normal, sensible person to airhead in a breath. I hope she does get married off just because she seems to need a babysitter. At least will someone wrap her in bubble wrap for her own safety? The ghost adds nothing to the story. I will read the next one, but not soon. I need a break from this irritating character.
November 15, 2024
Good, but with some far-fetched stuff even for a series involving a ghost haunting the main character. The plot was overall pretty strong, I just thought the finish got a little hokey and contrived. Probably a good time to take a breather from this series, but I will be returning to it down the road for sure.
August 1, 2025
A great a little story. I thought I knew who the killer was at first, but then things changed, and other characters started to seem like they were the killer, so I changed my mind. I didn’t like Kip at first, but she was a teenager hurting. Of course, Jitty is there for all the commentary of Sarah Booths love life and her choice in clothes. It could
Now for the next adventure.
Now for the next adventure.
October 21, 2018
So much better. Really high 3s, but I'm giving it 4 stars because it was so much better. Not as much Jitty--yay!--or maybe I'm getting better at skimming past those passages. A good mystery and some really nice interpersonal scenes. I'm also liking Tinkie a lot.
July 15, 2019
He deserved to die
Can one person really be that evil? Do women really make such stupid relationship mistakes? Doesn't anybody tel! The whole truth? I suppose yes, yes, and no. I foresee new permanent characters in future books.
Can one person really be that evil? Do women really make such stupid relationship mistakes? Doesn't anybody tel! The whole truth? I suppose yes, yes, and no. I foresee new permanent characters in future books.
March 14, 2020
This is my third one to read. I am going in sequence. The books are easy to read and start to really pick up 3/4 of the way through... getting to the end of the mystery. They also have some nice humor to them. I will be reading the next in line soon.
April 20, 2020
I still think the series would be greatly improved by removing the ghost. However, Jitty was marginally less obnoxious this time, so that's a bonus. I continue to love Sarah Booth and all her living humans and dogs. Good mystery. Will continue.
December 30, 2020
I'm turning into a big fan. The first book in this series was a well written romp. The second and third continue the merriment but add a deeper layer of human understanding. I can't wait to begin number four and am glad to see that there are many other encounters with Sarah Book Delaney awaiting me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews